Cousin Orville
Inventor of Air Cooling
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2000
Great photos! Florence is such a great city. I love your journey through the world of Italian gelato! More new flavors out there to discover!
Trip Report: Italy - Amalfi Coast June 15-22 2016 with pre-days in Rome
- Thread starter TXTransplant
- Start date
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Monday was Lucca and Pisa. Our local guide, Antonella, met us as the hotel and we all took a bus to Lucca. The first activity was bike riding on the wall. This was a much less strenuous ride than the one in Germany! The bikes are cruisers, and they also have a few tandem bikes, as well as some four person golf-cart type things that you pedal. With the exception of getting up on to the wall, the course is pretty flat and easy to ride. The wall is a loop of about 3 miles. I ride slow, so I only made it around twice before it was time to stop, but others made it around 3 times.
After that, we walked around with the guide, who was also very good, but a totally different personality from Michael and Sam (personally, I like the diversity). She was very bubbly, told lots of jokes, and laughed a lot (the other two guides were more reserved). Most of the time was spent in a church. Then we separated for lunch on our own and had a little over an hour. We just got two panini-type sandwiches from a take away cafe. After that, we met up with the group, and the guides provided everyone with gelato! I'll post a pic separately.
After that, it was back on the bus to Pisa. We parked in a lot kind of far from the tower and basilica, and then took a little tram. Pisa is a total tourist trap. It wasn't horribly crowded, but there really isn't much to see there except the church and tower. And I wasn't all that impressed with the church. We did go in the baptistry and listened to a demonstration showing the perfect acoustics. The building is a perfect circle, so the acoustics are very good. After that, it was the obligatory pic with the tower, and then we had maybe 20 or 30 min "on our own", which doesn't amount to much because the shops are sub-quality and very expensive, and there is nothing else to see. Overall, this was my least favorite experience of the trip, and I'm glad we didn't spend any more time there.
After that, we headed back to the hotel for dinner on our own. I wanted to visit Santa Croce, but it closes at 530 and they don't let anyone in after 5 (I arrived at 525). So, I did some jewelry shopping at a store right there on the square that our guide Sam had recommended the day before.
For dinner, at the recommendation of Robyn, we went to a place that serves filet with either a balsamic reduction or a balsamic blueberry reduction. We had one of each, and they were both delicious.
After that, we walked around with the guide, who was also very good, but a totally different personality from Michael and Sam (personally, I like the diversity). She was very bubbly, told lots of jokes, and laughed a lot (the other two guides were more reserved). Most of the time was spent in a church. Then we separated for lunch on our own and had a little over an hour. We just got two panini-type sandwiches from a take away cafe. After that, we met up with the group, and the guides provided everyone with gelato! I'll post a pic separately.
After that, it was back on the bus to Pisa. We parked in a lot kind of far from the tower and basilica, and then took a little tram. Pisa is a total tourist trap. It wasn't horribly crowded, but there really isn't much to see there except the church and tower. And I wasn't all that impressed with the church. We did go in the baptistry and listened to a demonstration showing the perfect acoustics. The building is a perfect circle, so the acoustics are very good. After that, it was the obligatory pic with the tower, and then we had maybe 20 or 30 min "on our own", which doesn't amount to much because the shops are sub-quality and very expensive, and there is nothing else to see. Overall, this was my least favorite experience of the trip, and I'm glad we didn't spend any more time there.
After that, we headed back to the hotel for dinner on our own. I wanted to visit Santa Croce, but it closes at 530 and they don't let anyone in after 5 (I arrived at 525). So, I did some jewelry shopping at a store right there on the square that our guide Sam had recommended the day before.
For dinner, at the recommendation of Robyn, we went to a place that serves filet with either a balsamic reduction or a balsamic blueberry reduction. We had one of each, and they were both delicious.
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TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Views from the bike ride.
If you're from Texas, you'll find this funny.
Gelato - dark chocolate with candied orange peel (and whipped cream) and salted caramel with ricotta.
Pisa
If you're from Texas, you'll find this funny.
Gelato - dark chocolate with candied orange peel (and whipped cream) and salted caramel with ricotta.
Pisa
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Tuesday, the last day, started out with a bus ride to Siena. Our local guide (whose name escapes me at the moment) met us there, and started out by telling us about the history and traditions of the 17 different neighborhoods in Siena. They are called contradas, and each has its own animal symbol. She is from Siena, so she really tells an excellent story about the traditions. We then walked around Siena, which is really beautiful, stopping at a museum (showing artifacts from the twice-yearly horse race), the church, and the main square where the horse race takes place. We had maybe 20 min of free time at the end to walk around the square.
After that, it was back on the bus to go to Fattoria Poggio Alloro for lunch. The farm has absolutely stunning views of San Gimignano and the Tuscan countryside. Lunch consisted of a meat and cheese sampler, ravioli, and a saffron pasta dish that were all absolutely delicious. We also did a wine tasting, sampling 2 whites and 2 reds. The wines were delicious (and are available in select places in the US, including the Central Market in Houston!).
We made it back to Florence in time to visit Santa Croce. We entered right at 5, and it cost my last 8 Euros! I like this church because it's where all the famous people are buried...Michaelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Dante all have tombs (except Dante's body isn't really here). The tombs are all very ornate, and I just think it's neat to see monuments to all of those people in one place.
After that, we met back up with the group for the farewell dinner on the roof-top of a local hotel. The roof offered spectacular views of the dome and we got some wonderful pictures. My dinner choice consisted of a pasta appetizer, eggplant Parmesan (which is not like what we have in the US), and tiramisu that was absolutely divine! We had so much food throughout the day that we did not stop for gelato (although, the farm and the restaurant both served it as a dessert option). But the tiramisu at dinner was a fantastic substitute!
I'll post more pictures, and then I will do a summary of our experience at the Florence and Amsterdam airports (what a disaster in Amsterdam!), and then I will do an overall trip summary.
After that, it was back on the bus to go to Fattoria Poggio Alloro for lunch. The farm has absolutely stunning views of San Gimignano and the Tuscan countryside. Lunch consisted of a meat and cheese sampler, ravioli, and a saffron pasta dish that were all absolutely delicious. We also did a wine tasting, sampling 2 whites and 2 reds. The wines were delicious (and are available in select places in the US, including the Central Market in Houston!).
We made it back to Florence in time to visit Santa Croce. We entered right at 5, and it cost my last 8 Euros! I like this church because it's where all the famous people are buried...Michaelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Dante all have tombs (except Dante's body isn't really here). The tombs are all very ornate, and I just think it's neat to see monuments to all of those people in one place.
After that, we met back up with the group for the farewell dinner on the roof-top of a local hotel. The roof offered spectacular views of the dome and we got some wonderful pictures. My dinner choice consisted of a pasta appetizer, eggplant Parmesan (which is not like what we have in the US), and tiramisu that was absolutely divine! We had so much food throughout the day that we did not stop for gelato (although, the farm and the restaurant both served it as a dessert option). But the tiramisu at dinner was a fantastic substitute!
I'll post more pictures, and then I will do a summary of our experience at the Florence and Amsterdam airports (what a disaster in Amsterdam!), and then I will do an overall trip summary.
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TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Siena
Frattoria Poggio Alloro
View at dinner
Frattoria Poggio Alloro
View at dinner
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
So, we are home now. Some of you may remember that I posted some questions about the Amsterdam airport before we left.
Our flight left Florence at 630 am this morning. The airport doesn't open until 5, and it's very small, which actually made the early morning flight more tolerable. Security was no big deal, although I did have to forfeit my two jars of jam from the farm as they were 105 mL and 100 is a strict max. I didn't check them because I was afraid they would break. We actually arrived in Amsterdam about 5 min early, and there were three other women on the flight with us who were catching the flight to Houston. One of those women had injured her foot, so the attendants arranged a cart to take her to the gate in Amsterdam - but it was only for her and not her friends (based on what the attendant on the plane said). Evidently, they thought our hour and ten minute layover was more than sufficient.
I'm not sure how much this affected our situation, but the plane from Florence was a KLM City Hopper 2x2 Embraer jet. It was about the size of a Canada Air regional jet (but bigger than the 1x2 Embraer). We were not given a gate in Amsterdam. We disembarked on the Tarmac and a bus took us to the terminal. Unfortunately, the bus took us to the entrance of the terminal where everyone else enters/exits. So, we had to go back through both security and passport control.
The security line wasn't that bad, BUT we had to take all of our liquids out again, had to take off our shoes, and I got a full body pat down (I was wearing some jewelry that the body scanner didn't like). Also, you can't even carry your boarding pass or passport with you through the scanner. They were also pulling bags to be hand checked. And my son's backpack got flagged. And it was in the same bin as our shoes. So, we made it through security, minus the backpack and our shoes, and were just standing there, shoeless, waiting for the ONE security guy to check the bags of two or three people ahead of us.
I swear, I felt like I was in the sloth DMV scene from Zootopia. This guy was moving soooo slow! When there was still one person in front of us, I asked him if he could go ahead and check our bag because our plane was boarding. He checked our boarding pass, which said boarding started at 910 (for a 955 departure). It was 900. He said since we still had 10 minutes until boarding, we had to wait. Mind you, in addition to the bag check, we still had to go through passport control and get to our gate (and the airport is quite large).
So, the security guy starts checking the bag of the woman ahead of us and then eventually walks away and is replaced by a woman. She checked the backpack and we made our way to passport check. The line was a cluster and it WAS NOT moving! After standing there for a couple of minutes, the lady directing the line let us go to the front of the line. But the line still wasn't moving. Finally, one of the women checking passports waived us up to her window because I think she saw the desperation on my face/in my voice. We literally cut in front of everyone and were the only ones to pass through the line. I have no idea what was going on, other than one of the passport checkers said something along the lines of the hold up wasn't their fault. No one else was passed through with us.
Anyway, we practically ran through the airport and made it to the gate as they were boarding. Our layover would have been more than sufficient if security and passport control hadn't been such a cluster. And I do not understand why we had to go back through security after getting off the plane from Florence. The only thing I can figure is it was because we disembarked on the Tarmac and entered the terminal from outside. If that's the reason, then it's a stupid set up, and I would think twice about booking anything smaller than a 737 if transferring at that airport. We did NOT have to pass through security when we landed in Amsterdam the first time on our way to Rome.
Needless to say, I was not impressed with the Amsterdam airport! Their security "system" is on par with our TSA, and there is no easy mechanism to deal with passengers who are running late. You are completely at the mercy of the security agents.
Our flight left Florence at 630 am this morning. The airport doesn't open until 5, and it's very small, which actually made the early morning flight more tolerable. Security was no big deal, although I did have to forfeit my two jars of jam from the farm as they were 105 mL and 100 is a strict max. I didn't check them because I was afraid they would break. We actually arrived in Amsterdam about 5 min early, and there were three other women on the flight with us who were catching the flight to Houston. One of those women had injured her foot, so the attendants arranged a cart to take her to the gate in Amsterdam - but it was only for her and not her friends (based on what the attendant on the plane said). Evidently, they thought our hour and ten minute layover was more than sufficient.
I'm not sure how much this affected our situation, but the plane from Florence was a KLM City Hopper 2x2 Embraer jet. It was about the size of a Canada Air regional jet (but bigger than the 1x2 Embraer). We were not given a gate in Amsterdam. We disembarked on the Tarmac and a bus took us to the terminal. Unfortunately, the bus took us to the entrance of the terminal where everyone else enters/exits. So, we had to go back through both security and passport control.
The security line wasn't that bad, BUT we had to take all of our liquids out again, had to take off our shoes, and I got a full body pat down (I was wearing some jewelry that the body scanner didn't like). Also, you can't even carry your boarding pass or passport with you through the scanner. They were also pulling bags to be hand checked. And my son's backpack got flagged. And it was in the same bin as our shoes. So, we made it through security, minus the backpack and our shoes, and were just standing there, shoeless, waiting for the ONE security guy to check the bags of two or three people ahead of us.
I swear, I felt like I was in the sloth DMV scene from Zootopia. This guy was moving soooo slow! When there was still one person in front of us, I asked him if he could go ahead and check our bag because our plane was boarding. He checked our boarding pass, which said boarding started at 910 (for a 955 departure). It was 900. He said since we still had 10 minutes until boarding, we had to wait. Mind you, in addition to the bag check, we still had to go through passport control and get to our gate (and the airport is quite large).
So, the security guy starts checking the bag of the woman ahead of us and then eventually walks away and is replaced by a woman. She checked the backpack and we made our way to passport check. The line was a cluster and it WAS NOT moving! After standing there for a couple of minutes, the lady directing the line let us go to the front of the line. But the line still wasn't moving. Finally, one of the women checking passports waived us up to her window because I think she saw the desperation on my face/in my voice. We literally cut in front of everyone and were the only ones to pass through the line. I have no idea what was going on, other than one of the passport checkers said something along the lines of the hold up wasn't their fault. No one else was passed through with us.
Anyway, we practically ran through the airport and made it to the gate as they were boarding. Our layover would have been more than sufficient if security and passport control hadn't been such a cluster. And I do not understand why we had to go back through security after getting off the plane from Florence. The only thing I can figure is it was because we disembarked on the Tarmac and entered the terminal from outside. If that's the reason, then it's a stupid set up, and I would think twice about booking anything smaller than a 737 if transferring at that airport. We did NOT have to pass through security when we landed in Amsterdam the first time on our way to Rome.
Needless to say, I was not impressed with the Amsterdam airport! Their security "system" is on par with our TSA, and there is no easy mechanism to deal with passengers who are running late. You are completely at the mercy of the security agents.
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Did you get to do the classic "holding up the leaning tower photo" at Pisa? LOL. In the pictures and it looks like you had wonderful weather. But you have done something bad TXTransplant.....you have awaken my Dolce Vita inside myself which I have struggled to keep tamed inside my travel heart. LOVE,LOVE,LOVE the pictures THANK YOU.
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Other than our connection in Amsterdam, this really was a flawless trip.
Overall, I would say this itinerary is a great value. I really like the fact that we only changed hotels once. I also feel like the Capri day was done really well, and that alone makes the trip a must-do. Pompeii is a close second, in terms of being a trip highlight. Naples and Florence may not be the easiest cities to get in/out of (several families had to take three flights each way), but it was super easy to add pre-days in Rome and take the train to Naples.
I have no complaints about the hotels. The Grand Hotel la Favorita is absolutely stunning, and Hotel Bernini was also very nice with a great location (our room was a little tight, even for two).
Robyn and Marco are expert guides and consummate professionals. Their experience really shows. The local guides were also outstanding. I also really enjoyed the two trips to the farms. I would definitely recommend this trip, and think it's a great alternative to the other Italy itinerary, if you're looking for something a little less heavy on the museums and monuments.
Overall, I would say this itinerary is a great value. I really like the fact that we only changed hotels once. I also feel like the Capri day was done really well, and that alone makes the trip a must-do. Pompeii is a close second, in terms of being a trip highlight. Naples and Florence may not be the easiest cities to get in/out of (several families had to take three flights each way), but it was super easy to add pre-days in Rome and take the train to Naples.
I have no complaints about the hotels. The Grand Hotel la Favorita is absolutely stunning, and Hotel Bernini was also very nice with a great location (our room was a little tight, even for two).
Robyn and Marco are expert guides and consummate professionals. Their experience really shows. The local guides were also outstanding. I also really enjoyed the two trips to the farms. I would definitely recommend this trip, and think it's a great alternative to the other Italy itinerary, if you're looking for something a little less heavy on the museums and monuments.
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TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Yep, we have our cheesy holding up the tower photo! We couldn't have left without one! I really did enjoy his trip and would actually consider doing it again, just because the Amalfi Coast and Capri are so beautiful. I don't think it would be possible to have the same experience twice!
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Cousin Orville
Inventor of Air Cooling
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2000
Yep. That about sums it up. Kind of one of those places everyone should get to once in their life (for a very brief time on their way to something more interesting). I've been their twice now. The last time we went it was with some friends combined with a cooking excursion while on the DCL Magic. Got to go up the tower the 2nd time. Got pictures of my oldest DS holding up the tower and my redheaded middle son pushing it down. I'm all good now. No need for a third trip.
Thanks for the info on arriving to AMS via a small plane. Yeah its not a pleasant airport particularly the passport control area. I guess passport control areas everywhere are frustratingly slow, but it's at AMS that we're usually making a connecting flight.
Welcome back to Houston. So was it hotter or cooler in Italy? Today wasn't too bad, but the last couple of days have been really hot/humid.
2003Eeyore
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
Hi- I was the one from TX in Germany with Lexie when you were on your trip. I told her you and your son were there 
Rapunzellover
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
Txtransplant- is the Marco you had Marco B.? Had him for Viva Italia; he's fantastic!
BluesTraveler
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2015
I can't believe your trip is over already, it went by so fast just reading along each day! Loved your report, thank you so much for doing it.
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
We had Marco V.
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Houston is definitely hotter than anywhere we visited in Italy. And more humid. We were fortunate to have amazing weather, though! I know certain places, like Pompeii, can be uncomfortably hot.
I can't believe you tolerated Pisa twice! I was so ready to go after about 15 minutes...LoL!
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Hi- I was the one from TX in Germany with Lexie when you were on your trip. I told her you and your son were there
Thank you! It was great to hear from her (via Robyn)!
BluesTraveler
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2015
TXTransplant, I'm curious to hear how your son liked the trip. We have 2 boys and are considering this trip with them next summer. Did he enjoy the activities and sites? Enough activity? (Our kids love to DO but they do not really like to LOOK.) Were the guides pretty good with the kids?
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
I thought this trip was a good mix of looking and doing. On the Amalfi Coast and Capri, we walked around a lot, but we also got to do ferry rides, a private boat ride, and the swim. The trip to the first farm was also very interactive (make your own pizza and dancing). The tour of the Uffiizi was actually a scavenger hunt for the kids (the kids and adults were separated), and they really enjoyed it. There was lots of walking around and looking in Siena, Lucca, and Florence, but we had the bike ride in Lucca. Pompeii is also a lot of walking around and looking, but it is really cool and the guide is fantastic. My son really enjoyed it.
We also had a great experience in Rome with Waks of Italy. Their Colosseum tour and pasta making class are great for kids. Climbing St. Peter's dome is also a very active thing to do.
If you're looking for more adventurous things like zip lining or horseback riding, then this tour probably isn't the best choice. But the kids on our tour ranged in age from 11 to 16 or 17 and they all seemed to have a fantastic time! If you have more specific questions, just let me know!
TXTransplant
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
Oh, and our guides were fantastic with the kids! Marco, who is a tour regular, is wonderful. Robyn was also amazing, but she moves around a lot and doesn't stay in Italy.
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